tap into the full power of your fidelity greenline. call or come in today for a free one-on-one review. call ortwo weeks later.or a free one-on-one review. look, credit karma-- are you talking to websites again? this website says "free credit scores." oh, credit karma! yeah it's actually free. look, you don't have to put in your credit card information. whew! credit karma. really free credit scores. and hello again, you're watching cnn live coverage. i'm natalie allen. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. ahead here this hour, we are learning new details of exactly how cyberattackers broke into sony's network as washington scrambles for an appropriate response. also ahead, trying to make sense where there is no sense of the horror in pakistan. we visit the school where nearly 150 people, most of them children, were shot and killed. and later, this lovable dog

has a new lease on life. just wait until you hear how special his prosthetic legs are. and thank you again for joining us. his name, by the way, is derby. and we'll get to derby's story a little later in this hour. well, the u.s. is now very close to publicly blaming north korea for the cyberattack on sony. u.s. investigators tell cnn they have uncovered evidence that hackers broke into sony's computers by stealing credentials of a system administrator. that will prove it was not an inside job. some prominent u.s. lawmakers are already blaming north korea. an announcement from the white house could happen in the coming hours. if blaming north korea is a forgone conclusion, the bigger question is how will the white house respond. cnn's pamela brown looks at some possible options.

>> reporter: u.s. officials are looking to place the blame on north korea, pulling the plug on its comedy "the interview," depicting the assassination of kim jong un. >> take him out. >> law enforcement sources say the blueprint of the current attack mimicked a hack against media organizations last year. according to a north korean defector, the north koreans have a vast secretive network of hackers around the world called bureau 121. >> unit 121 is a highly sophisticated organization under the military branch of the people's republic of north korea. and what this group is designed to do is to advance their cyberwarfare capabilities. >> reporter: sony executives are calling the hack an act of terrorism. now the obama administration under mounting pressure to respond. yet so far the administration is hesitant to publicly point the finger at north korea. >> we've got to consider a range of serious options which we're doing right now in the u.s. government about how to respond to it.

>> reporter: one option on the table, tougher sanctions. north korea could be crippled if the u.s. goes after chinese banks that do business with pyongyang. or the u.s. could flex its cybermuscles and launch a counterattack on pyongyang's computer systems. >> right now the north koreans feel they're winning. the only way we'll stop them is if they were persuaded this was a bad idea. so we have got to react in a way that deters computer attacks of this kind. >> reporter: there is also a legal action, returning an indictment like the u.s. did against five chinese military hackers earlier this year. but sources tell cnn there is not enough evidence yet to tie the sony hack to specific individuals. as washington scrambles to figure out an appropriate response, one former homeland security official warns this remarkable decision to pull the film is a serious mistake. >> there are a lot of countries that would like to sensor americans. and if we start giving into it, there won't be an end to it. >> again, that was pamela brown

reporting. and you heard in her report how sony executives described the hacking as an act of terrorism. but should the company have been better prepared? to learn about past cyber attacks on sony, will ripley joins me from tokyo. you have reported on this. will? >> reporter: yeah, just within the last couple years, three years ago, actually, 2011, sony was the target of a huge hack where some tens of millions of people had their personal information basically put out there. their user names, their pass words. and just a couple of months later, sony pictures was hacked, and another 150,000 people had their information leaked. but up until this point, natalie, it was always people consider hacking a leak of personal information, pass words, destructive, but nothing like the attack that has really brought sony to its knees. hidden behind security doors and bulletproof glass, a set that

could be the set of a movie. only this is real. >> it shows all of the cyberattacks launched in japan just last month. >> reporter: hackers targeting thousands of japanese companies. for hundreds of them, this tokyo cybersecurity firm is the only line of defense. the hackers are always getting more advanced, sometimes too advanced for those trying to keep up. for lac, which keeps its client list confidential, the chief technology officer knows a devastating hack like the one on sony pictures can penetrate even the best cyberdefense. you have all these experts here. could you have protected against a hack like this? could anybody protect against it? not 100%, he says. it's like catching a cold or the flu. or in sony's case, an attack that crippled a major corporation. it has been a popular cybertarget. three years ago in 2011, hackers

stole 77 million playstation accounts, knocking out the network for almost a month. >> people thought about so-called cyberterrorism, they thought hacking. >> reporter: asia strategist keith henry says sony was taken by surprise last a month. cybercriminals took control of sony pictures' computer system, and they did something unprecedented, stealing massive amounts of data, and using it to devastate the company. >> it can inflict damage, immense amount of damage to corporate america. >> reporter: sony appears to be trying to avoid further provoking north korea, the prime hacking suspect, telling cnn simply the investigation is ongoing. the japanese government is also distancing itself, telling cnn it's a united states issue. >> one of the reasons why no one is willing to make a statement, because they don't know what to say. >> reporter: henry says the world is coming to terms with the new reality of cyberterrorism. >> how are we going to deal with it? we don't know yet. >> reporter: for now, at tech labs like this, a new sense of

urgency, figuring out how to fend off a new kind of enemy. of one thing, natalie, that has cybertechnicians did tell me, they think sony should have done a better job of noticing when their system had been infiltrated and should have detected and stopped it sooner before all of that data, all of that humiliating and destructive data was taken and leaked to the public. >> this is such a huge story. and it's interesting it's about a moviemaker and a film. and, you know, you have reported on this that cyberattacks can take down much more critical infrastructure in different countries than a provocative film. it's all very interesting how this is going to play out. i'm going ask you, will, since you are there in tokyo, how is this affecting japan and north korea's relationship? >> it's interesting, because the japanese government really is being very cautious in their wording here, because they're in

a situation where they've been trying to inch closer to normalizing relations with north korea. so we had the chief cabinet secretary here telling reporters essentially that he doesn't feel that this sony hack, even though it's a japanese company that could be losing literally hundreds of millions of dollars, he doesn't feel that the sony hack will affect japanese and north korea relations. but there is also the real fear, the tangible fear among companies and governments that they could be the next target. because if indeed north korea is behind this, they launched a debilitating attack to south korea last year when they targeted broadcasters, knocked them off the air, and knocked out bank atms in the city of seoul for a long time. >> wow, like i said, it can go beyond, beyond so many different kinds of industries and businesses. it's really, really tear fight. all right, will ripley for us. thanks so much, will, there in tokyo. australian police say they have not identified any suspects in the mysterious death of eight

children. the children were found inside a house in cairns. their ages range between 18 months and 15 years old. officials say a 34-year-old woman who is the mother of seven of the children, is being treated in a hospital for injuries. she is assisting officials with the investigation. police, though, are not saying how the children died. australian prime minister tony abbott reacted by calling it an unspeakable crime, and that all parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened. still to come here, bullet marks and blood stains inside a pakistani school. we get a firsthand look at this heartbreaking scene that happened this week. also ahead, wall street has its best day in three years. the announcement from the fed that is driving stocks higher. stay with us. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup

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welcome back. this just in to the cnn newsroom. pakistan's military says it has killed 32 terrorists who were headed for the afghan border. officials aren't saying if the group is linked to the recent monday attack by the taliban at the school in peshawar, but we will continue to follow up on this story. as we said, it is just in. pakistan military says it's killed 32 terrorists trying to flee to afghanistan. well, about that school, at least 148 people were killed

there, the vast majority of them children. cnn is getting a firsthand look at the devastation inside the school. nic robertson visited. we warn you, though, as you can imagine, this video and this report extremely disturbing. >> reporter: this is where the taliban got into the school. they cut the barbed wire the top of the wall, scaled it using bamboo wires. another team got in just down here. and then they took off towards the main buildings. they burst into here, the main auditorium. they split into two teams. it was full of children here taking classes. >> translator: they shot me as soon as i came in. we tried to run. i was shot in my shoulder. the people who came, they had no sense of humanity in them. >> reporter: so many of the children afraid, trying to hide underneath these benches. the class was going on. a brigadier was giving a lesson

in first aid. the dummy the operators left where he fell. and this is when things get really bad. the army says that the children fled for the door over here, and the door here. 100 of them were gunned down as they were trying to escape. cold-blooded murder. everywhere you walk here, blood splatters are all over the ground. the taliban not satisfied with their killing downstairs come up here to the computer lab. and one look inside this room and you can see immediately what's happened. children gunned down where they're just typing at their computers. classroom after classroom, a pair of glasses sitting here, child pencils and pens lying on the floor, torn, pieces of school work. this child has just been writing in his lessons. and here on the board where the teacher would have been standing, bullet holes.

and then the place where the teacher fell. and this is where the final showdown took place, the administration work. one of the attackers blowing up his suicide vest here. shrapnel marks the wall. little pockmarks from all the ball bears inside his suicide vest. and over here, rubble on the floor. another suicide bomber has blown himself up. chaos, devastation. the principal's office down here. she is killed. and right at the end of the corridor, the last suicide bomber blows himself up. the deputy principal hides in there. she survives. and this here is what is left of the last attacker. nic robertson, cnn, peshawar, pakistan. >> just horrendous. well, in nigeria, boko haram

is being blamed for a mass kidnapping and the murder of dozens of people this week. officials and witnesses in a village north of chibuk say the islamic militants launched a raid sunday, shooting down men, killing at least 32 people. they then made off with at least 185 women and children. an estimated 13,000 people have been killed since boko haram's insurgency started in 2009. another 1.5 million are internally displaced. one woman who lost two of her children in a boko haram attack explain what life was like in her village. >> translator: the past three years we have been enduring insurgent attacks. recently we were driven out of our communities by the insurgents. we ran into the bush and found our way to this camp. they killed a lot of people and burned our houses. >> reports say about 400,000 of the displaced are in or near that camp in the city of yola.

a major u.s. city is pulling the plug on the popular car service uber. coming up next here, we'll tell you why portland has problems with uber and what they want from it. we'll tell you in a moment.

welcome back to cnn live coverage. the european union is banning all investment by its members in crimea, even blocking european cruise ships from docking there.

the eu has a strong policy of not recognizing moscow's annexation of the crimea region, which it says still belongs to ukraine. the measures go into effect saturday. meantime, u.s. president barack obama signed a bill calling for stricter sanctions against russia, but says he has no intention of using them yet. he says the u.s. may even roll back sanctions, but only if russia takes what he called necessary steps. russian president vladimir putin meantime did his best to ease people's fears over the country's tumbling economy. but in a news conference thursday, he also went on the defense, saying the country needs to guard its sovereignty to avoid becoming what he called a chained bear. putin said the economic downturn could last up to two years. but the country he said will get through it. >> translator: quite clearly, the situation which has been provoked by external factors

above all with today's and yesterday's reduction in foreign currency will be maintained and possibly the further reduction in oil prices will reduce further inference the national currency. we will get through this period. it's not easy, of course. but we will strengthen our position within the world economy. >> well, if oil prices in russia don't recover soon, officials expect the russian economy could shrink by almost 5% next year. well, u.s. stock markets are riding high. [ closing bell ] the dow jones industrial average soared for a second straight day thursday, gaining 421 points to close at 17,778. that is the dow's best one-day gain in three years. the nasdaq and s&p were also up

more than 2%. investors encouraged when the federal reserve said it will take its time raising interest rates. well, the car service uber has suspended operations in portland, oregon for the next three months. the city is suing over what it calls uber's lack of compliance with safety, health, and consumer protection rules. dan simon reports it's just the latest in a string of troubles for uber. >> reporter: as thousands attempted to flee downtown sydney during the deadly hostage crisis, uber found itself in the headlines again. and not for good reasons. as car demands surged, the service used in more than 250 cities around the world charged passengers four times the normal rate with uber's controversial surge pricing. the company soon apologized and began offering free rides. but the damage was done. it's the latest in a string of high profile mishaps for uber

whose high speed growth from a few employees, no name company to an international juggernaut has led to a series of troubling issues. everything from price gouging and privacy invasion to allegations of assault and rape. in boston, authorities just announced that an uber driver has been charged with rape and kidnapping. police say the victim was driven to a secluded location where the driver beat and sexually assaulted her. the company in a statement calling the crime despicable. uber has been working closely with law enforcement and will continue to do everything we can to assist their investigation. and in new delhi, a driver had also been accused of a similar crime, that as the company stresses safety is its number one priority, and that it is working on security enhancements. but there have been other recent issues. in san francisco, the company's hometown, and los angeles, a lawsuit filed by the d.a.'s accuses the company in part of misleading customers about driver background checks. in portland, madrid and bangkok,

uber has been ordered to cease operations amid allegations it wasn't complying with local laws. in paris it banned uber pop after the taxi industry protested. all this for a company that just launched four years ago and is now valued at more than $40 billion. as an entrepreneur, did you ever think you would be running a car service? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: that's uber ceo travis back in the days, explaining to me the original vision behind the company. >> it was for me, the co-founder and our 100 friends to push a button and a s class mercedes rolls up. and that was it. all of their friends wanted it so we just opened it up. >> reporter: uber doesn't actually employee its drivers. instead, it serves as a technology middle man connecting them to passengers. its valuation has surpassed companies like delta and hertz, but of course the press coverage hasn't been so friendly. >> it was tear fight. >> reporter: just last month, a

senior uber executive said at a private dinner that uber should pay a million dollars to hire opposition researchers to dig up dirt on journalists writing negative pieces. silicon valley blogger sarah lacy one of the apparent targets of the scheme. >> i've covered powerful tech companies for a long time and powerful moguls for a long time. and i've never heard a plan like that detailed before. >> reporter: later tweeted the executive's comments were terrible and do not represent the company. can these pr problems bring down the company? >> they could, if they continue to get out of control, and this f there are more of them and the company doesn't address them. so this robin hood might turn into a darth vader if they're not careful enough about how quickly these things get out of control. >> reporter: uber has likened it's struggles to a political campaign, which is why they i.r.a..ed plouffe. part of plouffe's job to get unabomer in cities where the powerful taxi industry has been

successful in keeping them out. in a recent blog post, uber's ceo writes acknowledging mistakes and learning from them are the first steps, trying to save the image of a company born from a simple idea. >> we just wanted to push a button on our phone and get a ride. and that's an aspiration and a functionality that i think millions of people in cities across the country and around the world want. >> reporter: dan simon, cnn, san francisco. well, ahead here, efforts to lift the veil of secrecy on the group suspected of hacking sony's computers. we'll look into that. also, the boston bombing suspect appeared in court thursday. and there were shouting matches inside and outside the courtroom. people with type 2 diabetes

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welcome back to cnn live coverage. i'm natalie allen. our top story, the u.s. is set to publicly blame north korea for the cyberattack on sony. an announcement could happen in the coming day. officials say hackers stole credentials of a system administrator to access sony's computers, meaning it was not an inside job. in cairns, australia, police say they have found eight children dead inside a suburban house. their ages range between 18 months and 15 years old. officials say a woman who is the mother of seven of the victims is receiving treatment for her wounds, and is assisting officials with their investigation. police say they have no suspects in the case, and they're not talking about how these children died. russian president vladimir putin did his best to ease people's fears over the country's tumbling economy, but in a news conference thursday,

he also went on to say the country needs to guard its sovereignty to avoid becoming what he calls a chained bear. putin says russia's economic downturn could last two years. the cyberattack on sony led the studio to pull the release of its film "the interview" about a fictional plot to assassinate north korean leader kim jong un. it's a comedy. the hacking and its aftermath have raised eyebrows and anger in washington. one u.s. senator says expect congress to take action right after the holiday break. >> it's remarkable that a country like north korea can have that capability, and if they're able to disrupt a film, you can imagine what they are doing or attempting to do to our national defense capability. this is deeply alarming. it will be one of the first priorities of the address on the senate armed services committee, beginning in january. >> so how could north korea

disrupt a major corporation, shelve a movie and spread fear among theater owners of potential terror attacks? the answers may lie in a secretive north korean agency called brew 121. cnn's kyung lah tells us it's believed these north korean cyberwarriors have struck before. >> they are shadow warriors placed around the world with one sole mission, hack into and disrupt western interests. north korean soldiers, a technicolor parading force against the west. on state run television a near ridiculous parody. but the cyberwar versus the west, they have no face and are only known by a number, bureau 121. what is bureau 121?

>> translator: they conduct the cyberattacks overseas and against enemy states. jong is a north korean defector, a former military computer systems worker now in south korea, independently attempting to crumble an agency nearly impossible to chase. bureau 121, a shadow agency with an one known number of the regime's handpicked shadow agents placed in countries around the world. he believes there are approximately 1800 of them, though he says the agents themselves don't know how many exist. we can't verify jong's claims about the shadow group, but he says he has obtained from a current operative hundreds of financial files hacked from south korean banks, complete with names and other bank account details. is the cyberwar the real war for north korea? >> translator: raising cyberagents is fairly cheap, he says. the world has the wrong view of the north korean state. with that incorrect world view, north korea was able to increase its ability to launch

cyberattacks. south korea learned the hard way. banks across the country last year were paralyzed, atms forgotten for days. media outlets went dark, servers jammed or wiped. north korea denied it was the source of the hack. but in the wake of the attack, south korea beefed up its own cyberforce, declaring the online war as dangerous as pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. north korea exists in the land of over the top propaganda, while experts say it wages its parallel war in cyberspace, led by a young man of the internet age ushering in a new phase of the korean conflict. what north korea craves most is visibility on the global map. what this hack of sony has done is given them exactly that. kyung lah, cnn, seoul. well, the attack at sony may not be the only time a major company in the u.s. has been

targeted, allegedly by an outside government. we're now learning details of a computer attack on sands casinos. as cnn's brian todd reports, that cyberattack may have been meant to punish the company's ceo for comments he made about iran. >> reporter: a cascading attack, servers shut down, screens go blank. a rush to unplug computers. this wasn't the hack on sony. this attack hit the world's largest casino operation, including the venetian hotel in las vegas ten months ago, and this also may have been the work of a rogue nation. cnn has learned on february 10th of this year, thousands of employees at sands casinos in las vegas and bethlehem, pennsylvania, had their computers hit. one former employee says, quote, hundreds of people were calling i.t. iran is suspected to be behind the attack, according to reports in bloomberg business week and slate. sands won't comment. one expert believes iran has the capability to do this.

>> the iranians and apparently the north koreans are doing are taking these tactics that anonymous has used and these other nonstate groups and really bringing this now nation state level to the attacks. >> reporter: the fbi tells cnn the investigation is ongoing. a sands official says gambling operations weren't affected, but the company was rattled. a former sands employee says customers couldn't book rooms online for a couple of weeks. if iran is the perpetrator, why would they launch a cyberattack on the casinos just months before the hack, sheldon adelson, the billionaire ceo of sands suggested hitting iran with a nuclear missile in an uninhabited desert to force the country to abandon its nuclear program. >> you want to be wiped out? go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development. >> reporter: iranian officials did not respond to cnn's repeated requests for comment. as chilling as these alleged attacks by iran and north korea are, did the u.s. and israel start the trend with the stuxnet

attack that crippled iran's centrifuges? one author says stuxnet was different. >> this was traditional national security taking down inline with your city council sanctions some of the worst regimes on the planet trying to develop some of the world's worst weapons. >> reporter: but the sands and sony hacks, experts say, could embolden those regimes to take it one dangerous step further. >> other sectors such as our finance and banking and power plays and the like that provide life and safety functions for our economy and for our country could be the potential next target. >> reporter: but one expert says what may keep iran, north korea, or another u.s. enemy from hacking america's power grid or other infrastructure is the knowledge that if americans start getting hurt or killed by those attacks, the retribution will be severe. brian todd, cnn, washington. well, the man accused of bombing the boston marathon finish line was in court thursday for the first time in

more than a year. and some of his supporters and critics made sure they were heard as well. here is cnn's deborah feyerick. she was in the courtroom. >> reporter: the hearing took just 25 minutes. johar tsarnaev in court for a pretrial hearing. it was the first time since 17 months ago at which time he pleaded not guilty to the 30 charges against him. he looked different from the last time i saw him. this time he had a short beard. he played with it at times during the hearing. he was wearing a black collared sweater along with a white shirt, gray slacks. the judge asked him a number of questions, including whether he was happy with his legal representation, and tsarnaev said yes, very much. the judge also asked him whether or not he understood and was being kept up to date on what is going on. he said yes, sir. and if the judge asked whether he wanted to meet with him in private, he said no, sir there was an outburst in the courtroom. the a woman who is the mother of a friend of tsarnaev, a young man who was implicated in a

triple murder and who was shot dead by a fbi a agent, the mother yelled out in russian stay strong you have supporters. she was led out of the courtroom after that particular outburst, though she did address the press afterwards. this trial is expected to begin january 5th with jury selection. the judge still has to issue a number of rulings on various motions by both sides. deborah feyerick, cnn, boston. there was another scene outside the courtroom when a boston bombing survivor exchanged words with tsarnaev's supporters. after some of them said there was trickery in the case, he held up his prosthetic leg to show them his injuries. prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if tsarnaev is convicted at his trial, which starts next month. he has pleaded not guilty. we are learning new details about the secretive spy released by cuba. up next, what u.s. officials say about the man who spent the past

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ordering chinese food is a very predictable experience. i order b14. i get b14. no surprises. buying business internet, on the other hand, can be a roller coaster white knuckle thrill ride. you're promised one speed. but do you consistently get it? you do with comcast business. and often even more. it's reliable. just like kung pao fish. thank you, ping. reliably fast internet starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. we're learning more about the man who was brought to the u.s. he was accused of spying for the u.s. and although the u.s. government isn't naming him, sources tell cnn he is rolando trujillo. he was freed by cuba, along with

u.s. government subcontractor allen gross, who spent the past five years in a cuban prison. the u.s. spent three convicted spies back to cuba. many people in cuba say they're excited about the prospects of closer ties with the u.s. and the promise of more american trade, investment, and visitors has them thinking about how to clean up the country's image. cnn's patrick auchman is in cuba. >> there are two cubas. this is the one most visitors don't see. it's a grim place. you can see buildings are collapsing all around me. people are just hanging on. part of that is due to the long-time u.s. economic sanctions. all of that is due to the cuban government's inability to manage their own economy. so you talk to people here, and you hear about how they only make about $20 a month. it's not nearly enough to get by. but it's what they have. they have, of course, old cars that have been passed down for generations. they keep running. they look like they could fall

apart at any time. and some of them do. so when you talk to people really impoverished neighborhoods like this one. talk to them about what improved u.s. economic relations would mean for them. they talk about how they don't just want it to improve their economic situations, they need it. to. >> translator: you try to make things better so you have more. we have enough, but more would be better. >> reporter: and this is the other cuba, the one what is for international visitors who come into cuba with hard currency to spend. you can see the streets are fixed and the walls are not falling down. is cuba ready for all these changes? it doesn't appear. so but they're welcoming them all the same. >> it's not clear yet how the thaw in u.s. relations will affect the case of an american woman on the fbi's most wanted list who has been living in cuba for decades. here is cnn's jason carroll.

>> learn a lot from people. >> reporter: asatta shakur is called on to speak about issues such as equality and human rights. but it wasn't always like this. in fact, she didn't always go by the name asatta shakur. >> the addition of joanne chesimard to the fbi's most panted terror list. >> reporter: her given name is joanne chesimard. last year she became the first woman added to the fbi's most wanted terrorist list. a $2 million reward offered for her capture in connection with the fatal shooting of a new jersey state trooper in 1973. >> while living openly and freely in cuba, she continues to maintain and promote her terrorist ideology. >> reporter: back in 1973, chesimard was a member of the black panther party. while a fugitive in cuba, talked about what happened the night she and a few of her companions

were stopped while driving on the new jersey turnpike. >> we ate and got back into the car. and shortly after we were stopped by police. >> reporter: she claims things turned violent almost without warning. >> he had a gun in my face and i put my hands out like. in a matter of seconds, i was shot. >> reporter: when the shooting ended, state trooper werner forster was dead. chesimard and another man charged with his murder. what happened here took place decades ago but one chilling detail is still very clear to state troopers. according to the fbi, forester was shot at point-blank range with his own gun. a jury found chesimard guilty of murder. she was supposed to serve a life sentence, but two years later she was broken out of prison by three armed members of the black liberation army.

and after hiding out for years, finally surfaced in cuba. she was granted asylum by fidel castro. since then, state officials have fought for her extradition. in 1998, new jersey's governor christine todd whitman had this message for chesimard. >> you are holding up the ability of the cuban population to enjoy a better relationship with the united states by your presence in cuba. >> reporter: now an historic shift in u.s./cuba relations. could it translate into an extradition agreement, one that would finally force chesimard back to u.s. soil to be held accountable for her crime? >> what cuba wants always is to get into a swap situation, and for u.s. officials, that's a very difficult road to go down. >> reporter: over four decades since the shooting, troopers here in new jersey are still waiting for justice. >> jason carroll reporting on

that story right there. u.s. officials say this case did come up in recent talks on improving relations with cuba, but at this point, there is no resolution. well, a u.s. soldier got to come home to his son after eight months away. how santa played a role in their reunion. that's coming up here. also, the story of an adorable dog with a new pair of legs. yes, it is the blade runner of dogs. that's derby. and we'll tell you how fast he is moving these days, coming up.

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a dad home on leave from the u.s. military surprised his son just in time for christmas. and he had a little help from you know who. larry flowers of our affiliate wsmv in nashville has the story. >> reporter: it's one of those christmas stories that will have you glued to the pages from beginning to end. >> couldn't ask for anything really more than to be home for christmas. >> reporter: but this christmas tale is real. 6-year-old aaron williams, the little boy in the plaid shirt, is one of the main characters and doesn't even know it. >> nervous, anxious. a little bit of every emotion, i think. >> reporter: that's just dad in a back room putting on a santa suit. >> i'm here to surprise my son, who doesn't know that i'm coming home for christmas. >> reporter: air force senior

airman nicholas williams just wrapped up a tour of duty in south korea and received a 28-day pass home. >> i think i'm good. i think so. we'll see. >> reporter: williams' wife whitney played along with the surprise and got a mommy pass for telling a little fib in order to keep the secret about her husband coming home for christmas. >> he started actually crying when i told him that. he was really upset. i felt like a horrible mother for lying to him like that. >> reporter: aaron's lakeview elementary kindergarten class thinks it's story time. >> santa visit fairs all over the world said little bear. >> reporter: that was until jolly old st. nicholas williams showed up. >> santa. >> he wants to come tug on his beard. aaron, see if this is the real santa. >> oh, no! >> pick a curl. take it all off, aaron! badly!

badly! >> reporter: out of all the gifts aaron could have chosen, the one he wanted most wasn't in santa's workshop. >> daddy. >> reporter: he is a little shy, and a boy of few words. >> daddy! >> reporter: but he knows the best gift of all won't be found under a christmas tree this year. >> daddy. >> reporter: definitely a christmas to remember. in muneerah al tarrah julian, larry flower, channel 4 news. >> what a nice little story there. derek van dam joins us from the weather center. hopefully there will be more of these reunions. >> a man of few words there, just saying daddy. he must have been so ecstatic. i love those story, natalie. they just warm the heart. >> they do. a lot of our stories don't. >> and it's great to report on stuff that that. good stuff. i have to change gears because we have a slightly different topic to talk about. this time there is actually been reports of flooding across the border of thailand and malaysia.

but there has been a significant amount of rain across that region. so much so that it has caused several thousands of people to evacuate across this border area. in fact, take a look at some of telephone visuals coming out of this region. it has been raining persistently for days on end, creating this scene. it looks like the children are playing in this water. but let's not forget, this is a really dangerous situation to be in. in fact a soldier was helping evacuate some of the flood victims. unfortunately was killed when his boat which was loaded with supplies was swept away down this raging river. a lot of these districts here actually declared disaster zones near the border. and what separates the border of thailand and malaysia is actually a river. it's located right there where you see that yellow line. and this is actually an estimate of rainfall totals that have taken place across this region. in fact, right where we saw in

that video just a moment ago, 750 millimeters. this is more than what they would experience in an entire month. this is the rainy season for southern thailand and northern malaysia. in fact, it peaks in november. starts to taper off in. we can expect 500 to 600 millimeters of rainfall. you can see the reports and why we have had flooding after wave after wave of moisture continues to bombard the region. you can see where the visual was copping out of, 465 millimeters of rainfall since earlier in the week. and in fact malaysia peaking with its rainy season right now. in fact, december is its money rainy month. and you can see why. we have more precipitation in the forecast across all of malaysia. and that will lead to the possibility of more flooding across this region locally between 800 to -- or rather 80 to 100 millimeters of rainfall near the border of thailand and

malaysia. unfortunately, several aspects of people's lives actually impacted by this flooding, as you can see, a mosque was flooded in southern thailand as well. all right, natalie, let's send it back to you. >> that's quite a picture there. all right, derek, thanks. okay. a dog born with deformed legs is getting a second chance at life. as cnn's jeanne moos reports, derby finally can run like other dogs after he was fitted with a custom set of 3-d printed prosthetics. take a look. >> reporter: see derby run. but if you wonder what is making the cliktty clack, it's his 3-d printer prosthetic legislation. >> hey, derb. you got your new legs. >> reporter: when he is not wearing his lerks derby has to walk on his elbow. he was born way, almost euthanized and then rescued. >> he is a lovable dog. >> reporter: don and sheri adopted him.

but he was first fostered by terra anderson who said she tried whenever she looked at his photo. >> okay, i'll do it. i'll take care of him. >> reporter: terra not only took care of him, she helped design his new legs at the company where she work, 3d systems. the beauty of 3-d is that they can change the design and easily printout a new leg. derby has had four versions ranging from a peg leg that didn't work to his current wheel and spokes. >> they're just velcroed. and we have little cushions in here. >> reporter: derby took to this edition right off the bat. >> when i saw him sprinting, i couldn't believe it. >> reporter: now we've seen a tortoise with a wheel and a pig with a two-wheeled cart. and even an elephant fitted with a giant prosthesis. but derby is easily redesigned 3-d legs can grow with him. they're being gradually elevated. it only takes a minute to put them on. >> good, boy. >> reporter: his elbows are

tender. >> well, at first he really does not want you to put them on here. he is being very, very good today. once he has them on, he is just happy as a clam to go out and run around. >> reporter: derby now wears them two to three hours a day and can go about a mile. his owners hope he'll be an inspiration to others with disabled pets. his facebook page attracts dogs with similar problems like wolfie and mabel. there are even plans afoot to turn derby into an action figure. no, we're not pulling your leg. what do you call them? >> we kind of call them his shoes. come put your shoes on. >> reporter: if only other disabled dogs could learn to walk in his shoes. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> how about that for innovation? go, derby, go. you're watching cnn live coverage. my colleague errol barnett is back with me in the next hour. coming up, we'll look at how hollywood is reacting to sony's decision to pull the release of the film "the interview."

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it was as if they had keys to the entire building. new information coming in to cnn about how hackers got into sony's computer network, and how the u.s. is thinking about retaliation. also coming up -- >> this is where the taliban got into the school. they cut the barbed wire, the top of the wall, scaled it using bamboo ladders. another team got in down here and then they took off to the main buildings. >> cnn is at the school where the tib